LAS VEGAS -- It doesn't matter what Nick Diaz
says, you want to hear it. It doesn't matter who he fights, you want to
see it. It doesn't matter if you want him to win or lose, you have a
strong opinion either way. In a matter of weeks, he has become the most
riveting, polarizing man in MMA.

Soon, he might become its biggest star.

That may sound a bit illogical right now, but excuse me, I've spent the
whole week absorbing the philosophies of the 209's most famous export,
and I'm sold. Illogical is the new normal.

Diaz's allure is two-fold. In the cage, he's a tremendously skilled
athlete with unshakeable belief in his skills and unbreakable stamina.
Outside of it, he is a fascinating subject with a unique world view and
an inability to hold back from saying what is truly on his mind.

In the past, the only thing holding him back from real stardom was a
lack of visibility. After Diaz left the UFC in 2006 -- after two
straight wins, by the way -- he began an odyssey of fights around the
world, in promotions from PRIDE to EliteXC to DREAM to Strikeforce.

No matter how well he fought -- and he went 11-1 with 1 no contest since
the start of 2007 -- the perception existed that he was cleaning up in
the B leagues. Now back in the UFC, that argument is no longer valid.

Just a few months ago, Penn was fighting top welterweight contender Jon Fitch
to a draw. On Saturday, Penn, could do little with Diaz, especially
after the first round. According to FightMetric, Diaz out-struck Penn by
an overwhelming total of 218-58 in the last two rounds. He also
bloodied and bruised him in a way we've rarely seen.

Diaz also may benefit from his own counter-culture behavior. Polarizing
is always good. Many sports superstars are loved and hated in equal
measures, including LeBron James and Tiger Woods. Diaz isn't a bad guy,
he's just a different breed. Like all great athletes, he is intensely
driven. He doesn't have a chip on his shoulder; he has a boulder.

But he does make us scratch our heads. As you're probably aware, he
missed two press conferences leading up to UFC 137 that cost him
a title match and led to a matchup with Penn that he didn't especially
want. The switch angered Diaz, but it also helped raise his profile.
People who supported him rallied around him. And those who didn't know
much about him invariably spent time trying to to learn more about him
and whether he was self-destructing or simply didn't play by anyone
else's rules.

By the time the UFC 137 conference call came about, and Diaz was late,
he had become such a story that he was a worldwide trending topic on
Twitter. And by the time his fight with Penn came about, certainly
nearly anyone with any hint of interest in MMA had his interest piqued.

"He blew up out of nowhere," UFC president Dana White said. "Part of it
is his attitude, but I think people love a real fighter. He's definitely
a real fighter."

Diaz's words and actions are so magnetic that it appears there's no one
he can't pull into his forcefield. After beating Penn, he hung out bait
for welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre.